


The Crimson Legacy

by StoleTarts



Category: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi, SWTOR
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 06:16:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1677842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoleTarts/pseuds/StoleTarts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four brothers who were separated after the Empire invaded their small town which forced them to grow up with extremely different lives and personalities. After finally being able to reconnect, they discover that the youngest is missing, officially declared as dead. LGBT characters covered all four Empire classes. Takes place after the initial storyline for Star Wars: The Old Republic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Prologue: Solaris

“Run! Hurry up! I’ll hold them off!”

There were four of them when the attack started; four young boys, each with a headful of sliver-white hair and a pair of bright-green eyes. Their dark-tanned skin was common for the people in their remote village on the tropical, vegetated moon.  They had been lucky for a long time being a middle of the road trading route for both the Republic and the Empire, but the two factions had finally butted heads one too many times. The Empire was finally invading, taking prisoners who gave up and shooting down those who didn’t.

“But you can’t hold them all off!”  The cry came from one of the younger boys who called old to his brother in desperation as he attempted to get some logic through the stubborn attitude and thick headedness. The eldest only grinned, throwing a wink over his shoulder before calling out to the Imperial soldiers.

“HEY YOU! Get away from our house!”

A swirl of red circled the youthful but solid body, drawing into him enough raw and untrained Force to toss a rather large piece of wrecked ceiling towards the group. After it crashed landed in the center of their formation, the young boy proudly snickered before running off to draw their attention. Naturally, he was chased, only stopping every so often to pick up another piece of debris with his will to toss behind at the pursuers. Admittedly, it felt good to hit one and have another trip over the body. Still, it didn’t take long before he was cornered. Surrounded by blaster rifles, he stared daggers at his captors. 

The sharp green eyes glared at circle of men in black uniforms and armor, completely fearless.

“Stand down. I’ll be taking this one.” Moving aside, the soldiers made room for the heavily-armored female Sith Lord. There was a sense of elegance to the older woman, despite her menacing aura. Her face was hidden behind a mask that altered her voice as the black and red armor hugged the aged curves of her adult body. A leathery cape flapped in the wind, mirroring the shapes and color of the many swirls of smoke in the sky.

 “What’s your name, boy?”

The glare continued as the red snakes returned and continuously surrounded the youth. While he couldn’t see the smirk that came across the mouth of the women in front of him, he could sense it as she mocked the weak Force energy with the crushing power of her own. His strength and expression suddenly wavered noticeable, however, despite his body trembling, he still continued to stand. The woman was equally surprised and amused as she made another fist to radiate a Force stronger than before. Finally, he fell to his already dirtied knees as a cough of blood came out to splatter on the scorched earth. The red cloud around him dissipated as the unnatural strength finally retreated.

“Your name, boy.”

“…Solaris.” What choice was there but to answer? Everything hurt. His vision was blurry and blood dripped from dry, chapped lips.

“Age?”

“Four…Fourteen.”

“And no formal training on this waste of a moon. Impressive. Yes, you will go far.”

The female Sith Lord turned to speak to one of the soldiers. “Ready my ship and take this child to the space dock. He’s Force-sensitive and he’s coming with me.”

“Yes, my Lord.” The solider who was spoken to saluted before heading to Solaris’s body. Being pulled up, Solaris looked toward his new master. Still, the softened green eyes moved to the spot where he had left the others. If nothing else, there was the relief that they had escaped.

 

Prologue: Seren

“But you can’t hold them all off!”

Seren had to protest at Solaris’s broken logic. What good would it do them if they all split up?! But his stubborn brother ran off with a smile just the same. That self-righteous jackass! Of course, this left Seren in charge of the other two.  Sighing, he pushed his two younger siblings along to try to hide in the remains of a small hut that had been recently destroyed. It made sense that the troops wouldn’t have any interest in a house they had already ransacked and ravaged.

Hunkered down, the three remained as quiet as possible as they watched the Empire march in a sea of black. It reminded Seren of how ants walked in straight lines and for a brief moment, he also wondered if any of them had a fear of getting lost if the trail broke. Thinking of things like a giant breadcrumb falling from the sky and watching the Imperial scurry to it gave him a mental chuckle. It was the only bit of happiness he would be allowed to have today.

“Some might still be hiding. Search the remains!” There was a large man in rich, gaudy robes giving orders to a handful of soldiers. Once someone was found, they were inspected.

“Slave traders,” one of the other boys spoke quietly as he through overgrown bangs.

“Quiet, Tsuki,” Seren quickly hushed the younger brother in fear that they might be heard from there hiding spot despite the overpowering sounds of grenades exploding and blaster fire in the background.

With another explosion nearby, the already unstable roof above them started to collapse. Looking up, Seren had quickly deduced that there were only two choices to make; get crushed or push the younger two to safety that would leave him exposed and out in the open. Sighing, he opted for the second choice. The last thing he saw was Tsuki’s wide-eyed look before the roof came down just inches in front of his nose. The collapse made a terrible sound of breaking stones and metal being torn and scratched that easily caught the attention of the slave hunting patrol.

“Sir, we have another one.”

Not even fighting it, Seren was pulled to his feet though his glare was most defiant. He even jerked his face away as he was inspected by the foul-smelling, fat noble. “Get your hands off me, you piece of lard. Just stick my shock collar on already.”

The force of the impact of being backhanded by a swollen hand covered in jeweled rings busted Seren’s lips and nose. “Shock collar? HA! You….You get the brand.”

Tensing up, Seren felt the heat of the device coming towards his face and released a blood piercing scream when it made contact. Across the nose, directly under the eyes, a fresh brand was burned into the brown flesh along with a circular symbol on his forehead. He could feel the indentations just from the pain alone.

Prologue: Tsuki

“Seren…SEREN!” The younger of the remaining two started to scream.

Tsuki’s hand covered the yelling mouth as they both watched the roof collapse in front of them. There was nothing that could be done for their brother now. The hand that covered the screaming could feel the tears of the youngest as they started to drip down on his dirty fingers.

“Stop it. We need to get out of here. Look for a way.” With heavy sniffling, there was a nod as the pair crawled in the darkness on their hands and knees.

“Found a grate. This should lead to the sewers, right?” Smiling, Tsuki gave a nod.

“Good job, Celi.” The cried upon hand came up to ruffle up the short white hair of the youngest in an attempt to both comfort and praise, something Tsuki often failed at doing properly on most occasions. Pulling the grate open, Tsuki let the smaller one go in first and dropped down afterward with a splash in dirty water. The smell was incredibly foul with overgrown rats running through the tunnels.

“Ugh.” Holding his nose with one hand and Celi’s fingers with the other, Tsuki began to lead them through the dimly lit passageways following a tiny amount of light that eventually allowed for the pair to come out on the other side. There was no telling how long they were in there and how far away from the village they were at this point.  In the horizon, the black smoke from the attack was still visible.

“We need to get out of here.” Tsuki only looked behind for just a moment before returning his gaze to the front. With his younger brother in tow, he tugged his sibling along down a dipping hill trying to avoid the small waterfall of sewage and waste. Only tuffs of their white hair could be seen at this point, mostly hidden by dirt and Maker knows what else.

Glaring through the beams of the setting dual-suns, they noticed a line of ships that had landed on the outskirts. They were different looking from the Imperial ships with a much more battle-worn and armored appearance.  Putting a finger to his lips, Tsuki silently hushed Celi as the pair kept low, sneaking between the spacecrafts. Avoiding the armored Mandalorians was the tricky part, but every step got them closer to an unguarded craft. At the end of the line was a black Imperial ship, sleek looking as if it were brand-new and fresh off the assembly line with the hatch open.

Motioning over, Tsuki made Celi go first after whispering something into his ear. Whatever it was seemed to startle the younger boy.

“But…But Tsuki, I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. Wait for my signal. You’ll be fine. Go. Araceli! Go!”

Finally mustering up the courage, Celi ran as fast as his short legs would carry him towards the hatch, disappearing inside. With a sigh of relief, Tsuki turned back toward the patrolling guards. Sneaking up behind one, he swiped the pair of blaster pistols from each side of their hips. The plan was to grab them and run, hide between the ships, and draw their attention to give Celi time to do as he was instructed, but the temptation was too much. Despite the desperate situation, Tsuki’s lust for revenge had to be satisfied.  Shooting down the man who just lost his guns, there was a menacing smile that crept onto the boy’s lips. The second guard reached for her own pistols, but was shot down before she could draw.

“Two.”

The blaster noise had alerted the other patrollers. As each ran up, they were each shot down in deadly accuracy.

“Three. Four.”

“Hold it.”

Tsuki was surrounded with arms spread to opposite direction, a gun in each hand.  A more rugged, older man with a gruff voice came out from behind his fellows; his face covered by a respectable, but aged traditional Mandalorian helmet.

“You’re surrounded.”

Tsuki only smirked, his messy dirt-covered hair covering one of the narrowed green eyes. “I evened the score from what you took from me. As long as I take two more of yours before you kill me, I would still one up you. That’s all I care about.”

There was silence at first, but the older man started to laugh. It wasn’t a mocking laugh. The sound was throaty, full of actual amusement that bellowed and reverberated from inside the helmet. “You’ve got balls, kid. I’ll give you that.”

The helmet came off, showing a shaved head with a thick-jawed face decorated with war paint. “You want something, right? Name it.”

“My baby brother has disabled your ships and their shields remotely. He’s just a kid and he’s smart. Not a waste of space like me. We got nothing to do with your war on the Republic, but you sacked us anyway. Deal is, you get him out of here alive and make sure he stays that way.”

“What about you? Don’t you want out of here too?”

Tsuki just shook his head. “Don’t care about me. I got what I wanted.”  Grinning, it was obvious he was speaking on his freshly killed body count; one for each of his missing siblings and his mother.

The large Mandalorian leader thought for only just a moment before giving a nod. It was interesting to negotiate with a child, especially one facing down an army of trained warriors without any fear or hesitation.

“Deal.”

The second voice came from behind as a sharply dressed Imperial Agent who emerged from stealth with a knife at Tsuki’s throat. He was been there the entire time completely unnoticed.

“Damnit…” Taking his fingers off the triggers, Tsuki put his hands up. The agent smirked as he removed the blade.

“You say he disabled the shields? Indeed…We could use that sort of intelligence, at such a young age no less. Prove your loyalty to the Empire and I’ll take him to be trained. He will be taken care of, you have my word.” Tsuki remained silent for a moment wanting to take his chances, but he had to keep a clear head that Araceli wouldn’t be able to make it on his own.

“…Fine. Celi! Celi, you can come out now!” Timidly, a little tuff of white hair peaked from the open hatch.

“Really…really? Okay…” Coming over, there seemed to be some confusion. Despite Tsuki’s claim that Celi was younger, they looked identical.

“Hm. Twins?” The older Mandalorian scratched at his scruff. Tsuki only glared, refusing to answer the question before turning to his brother.

“You’re going to go with this guy, okay? You’ll be alright, I promise.”

“You…You mean ‘we’, right?”

Smiling, Tsuki just shook his head. “Nah, I’ll come find you later. I got business with this old guy back here.”

“…Old?” The Mando leader scoffed at the notion. He wasn’t old…yet.

“But…but,” Celi started to tear up again, his nerves getting the best of him.

“Hey, it’s alright. You’ll go to a real school and everything like you wanted.”  Tsuki managed fluffed up the short hair again before pushing him over to the Agent.

“You hurt him, I will hunt you down.”

With an arm around Celi, the agent turned to head back to his ship but still had a nagging feeling that the older of the two boys was actually serious.

“We take care of our own”, the Agent attempted to reassure him before making his way inside of the ship.

Araceli eventually disappeared as well as the hatch closed behind them. That just left Tsuki with the rather pissed off bunch of Mandalorians to deal with.

Turning, he looked into the eyes of the leader. “So, you gonna kill me now or what?”

Again, the large Mando laughed before belting a large, armored fist into Tsuki’s face. The impact nearly broke the young boy’s jaw and sent him stammering back.  Much to the Mando’s amusement, Tsuki shook it off with a grin.

“That all you got _old man_?”

The other Mandalorians stood back, watching the back and forth scrap. Tsuki gave pretty well for the beating he was receiving despite not having any sort of armor on and having dropped his stolen pistols, but it was finally ended when he took a hard knee jab to the stomach. The pain that shook his body caused him to pass out, already half-starved and exhausted from being on the run. Thoroughly unconscious, he was picked up and flung over the large man’s shoulder.

“Ready the ship.”

The other Mandos nodded, moving out of the way as they shuffled into back to work.

Prologue: Araceli

“But...but…”

Araceli’s mind was racing. He had already lost so much already. Despite technically being the same age as Tsuki, he had less than half the nerves. He was also wondering why Tsuki didn’t answer the question when asked if they were twins. No, they weren’t twins. There were four of them, after all or at least, there was.

Solaris, Seren, Tsuki, and Araceli.

Sun, Star, Moon, and Sky.

They were brothers, all born one right after the other. They were all the same age and even relatively the same size with matching faces, hair, and eyes. There were subtle differences, to be sure, in both appearance and especially in personality. Solaris kept his hair slightly longer, while Seren liked to spike his bangs up to keep them out of his eyes while he read. Tsuki grew his bangs out instead, brushing them to one side of his face saying he only needed one eye to see really. Araceli was less creative in this department, keeping a typical short boy cut that his mother insisted on. She would have at least one normal child, so help her.

Solaris had a strong personality that he blamed on being the first born. He was overprotective and tried to do everything on his own. Seren was next and usually quieter, keeping to himself and preferred to stay lost any sort of studies that he could manage to find over the net. Tsuki was a bit of a jerk and had mean streak, but was surprisingly kind in private. He was only a big brother to Araceli, so he tried constantly to make the youngest of them braver by reminding him that life was cruel.  Celi never thought he’d see the day where Tsuki would be proven right.

“So you managed to hack into my system?” The Agent asked as he took Celi to the ship and went to check the console to see exactly how that was even possible. The boy just nodded as his curious green eyes scanned the ship. He didn’t have much time to look around before. It was all so…shiny.

“I see. You’ll be just what we’re looking for. Such a young age as well. Do you have any implants?”

Turning, Celi found himself being scanned over with a probe.  This time, the small head shook no. There was a sharp pain as he was stuck was a needle in the upper arm. “Just an immunity booster,” he was told. “You’re a bit under-fed. Scrawny.”

“I’ve always been a bit smaller.” Rubbing the arm, Celi felt a bit embarrassed. “What’s going to happen to me?”

“You’ll be sent for training, formally.  That’s all I can tell you right now.”

“…Okay.”

The ship started to rattle before taking off.


	2. Torian Cadera

There was a shuffle from the large bed in the back of the ship that Tsuki had stolen and kept as a prize. It wasn’t as if he had an extra ship in storage waiting for him, just in case he wanted to ever return this one.  Groaning, the man opened his eyes slowly and felt all types of groggy. Fresh liquid kolto was running through his veins, creating a feeling of slight soreness as well as a feel-good euphoria. It was also the cause for bringing up old memories. “…That…damn dream again.”

There was another noise off to the side of the bed where Torian Cadera had been watching over the Bounty Hunter for so long, he had actually fallen asleep. Based on Torian’s commitment and renowned stamina, Tsuki had to assume that he’d been watched over for at least a couple of days now. The heavy armor that had once been attached to Tsuki’s body before being returned to the ship had long since been removed. It had been replaced instead by medical tape which bound up his bruised and battered chest. The only sort of armor, or clothing for that matter, that remained on the brown-skinned body was Tsuki’s medical gauntlet left there to monitor his vitals. After struggling to sit up, he tapped a few commands into the piece of equipment to give him another dose of kolto before putting the gloved hand on top of short, messy blonde hair.

“Torian? Torian, wake up.”

There was a moan from the Mando who shifted his weight before raising his tired face upward. Baby-blues looked into the soft greens before he let out a loud, lion of a yawn. “You’re finally awake. We were starting to get worried.”

“We?” Tsuki asked with a raised eyebrow as he tried to smooth out the yellow hair from looking like ruffled feathers in vain.

“Yeah, you know. Mako, Blizz…me.” Letting out a chuckle, the Bounty Hunter moved to settle his head back down on the pillow. His bare arm carefully rested over the still pained ribs.

“You’re the one who followed me and didn’t stay put. This is your fault.”

“My fault? I pulled you out of there! Why did you go off without me?!” The once quiet room was suddenly filled with yelling, at least from Torian, while Tsuki’s voice remained hushed.

“That’s none of your damn business…” Usually, closing his eyes meant that Tsuki was ready to end the conversation and be left alone, but Torian had just about had it with the recent string of ‘secret’ missions.

“Is this about that woman you keep talking about? Celi?” The closed eyes snapped back open, giving the man a glare.

“Celi isn’t a woman and what do you mean, ‘keep talking about?’”

“So it’s a man then? What is he to you? You talk in your sleep.”

Question after question before a response; it was a wonder why Torian was suddenly so curious.

“Yes, it’s a man. Again, none of your damn business and stop listening to me…uh…sleep…talk.” Even Tsuki wasn’t really sure how to make that demand and frankly, it didn’t matter. With an irritated roll over, like a stubborn child who didn’t want to confess something, he stopped talking again. Sighing, Torian finally stood up.

“I’ll get Mako. She’ll want to know you’re up and look you over…”

“I can take care of my own wounds, so don’t bother. Just get out.”

“Fine.”

The frustrated Mando left with clenched fists. The door opened and closed on its own with rusted creaking and a thud. Walking through the ship, Torian ran into a busy looking petite woman who immediately flustered at the sight of him. “Tor..Torian…Hi. Is…the boss okay?” It was painfully obvious she still had feelings for him, though it had been already been decided that it was best not to get involved with each other.

“He’s fine, Mako. Stubborn, but sturdy. I was going to get some grub since he hasn’t eaten in a few…”

“Oh. Right. Of course, I’ll just go in and check…”

“I wouldn’t. Not unless you want him blasting warning shots at you again. Remember the last time?” How could she forget? The memory brought back an uncomfortable face to the surface.

“Right…In one of those moods again?” Torian nodded, causing Mako to sigh. “Right….By the way, you never really answered my question.”

“What question?”  Even as he spoke, Torian continued to the mess hall to open up a cold storage unit in order to pull out a container of some stew he made before Tsuki left without notice. Tapping on the built-in panel on the front, he set it down so it would self-heat. Mako followed, keeping short distance just outside of the room.

“You know,” she spoke softly as her confidence gathered. “Now that we are done with the whole Great Hunt and everything, we could actually try to start again. I know you said that at the time, we had a lot of work to do and shouldn’t get personal, but now...”

“I did answer you.” Torian continued to watch the container to make sure the stew only bubbled for a few seconds before cutting the power off.  He continued to speak as he dug around the other compartments in the mess hall for a clean spoon. “I told you that it’s not a good idea. It would never work between us. You don’t…understand the ways of the Mandalorians. The way you speak to Tsuki every time he does something for the good of the rest of us, it obvious that you hate it. Our ways are something that you won’t ever understand.”

Stunned, Mako began to stammer again in anger. “What…what the boss does most of the time is take the cruelest and easiest way out! He kills people because it’s easier than capturing someone!”

“Well,” Torian paused as he tasted the stew with his finger. “It is. If someone has the courage to put themselves out there enough to be hunted down, then they are lucky enough to have a good fight before they go.” He smiled as he finally acquired a spoon, albeit slightly grimy, and picked up a towel to wipe it off with.

“There are better ways to do things, Torian.”

“…And this is why I said you don’t understand. You’re a nice girl, Mako. Smart, funny, pretty, but you really don’t belong here.”

He moved to give the stew a stir before putting the lid back on. Needing both hands to carry the container by the handles, Torian put left the spoon in his mouth to carry it. He gave a polite smile to Mako, moving carefully past her and towards the direction of the boss’s room. “Oh, Mako. I need a favor.” It was a mumbling request as the spoon was shifted to the side of his mouth. Folding her arms, the irritated woman looked onward.

“Now you ask me for a favor after you say I don’t belong here?”

“Look, don’t be like that. I’m worried about Tsuki. All these missions with him going in alone and coming back in pieces?  I think he’s looking for someone. Can you do your net thing and try to find a name Celi…and…there was another name…Seren? Something about slave traders? Might be old flames, might be family. Whatever it is, I need to know.”

“Does the boss know you’re digging into his personal life like that?” Mako had a mean streak of her own when she was feeling burned. “What are you going to give me if I do it?”

“What do you want? Credits? I got some saved up.”

“You know what I want, Torian…I’ll look into it.” With a smirk, she turned to walk away, feeling quite proud of herself. What she didn’t see was Torian rolling his eyes.

“Women. Tsuki, I’m coming in.”

Back in the closed off room, Tsuki was already out of bed and attempting to untape his battered upper body while using the medical gauntlet to do a few more scans. He was smaller than he looked after the armor was removed, but still very much in shape. It also wasn’t very obvious that he was actually a skilled Combat Medic as well. Despite seeing it many times before, Torian was still amazed at how fast Tsuki managed to type and configured the equipment, saving his own life and the lives of his teammates several times over under the most intense situations. It was also insane at how quickly Tsuki could flip the switch on the twin blaster pistols from a helping hand to a deadly shot. Mako was right about one thing, at least. For as excelled as Tsuki was at saving lives, he was awfully quick to end them.

“Didn’t I tell you to get out?” Tsuki spoke softly, not bothering to look up at Torian. He knew exactly who it was.

“You say that all the time. I brought you some stew.”

“And I always mean it, but you just stopped caring.” The Hunter finally looked up briefly before going back to tending to his wounds. “Thanks.” Sitting down on the bed, Tsuki waited for Torian to bring it over. It was nearly normal now. Despite Tsuki’s rude behavior and constant protests, Torian brushed off the comments and just did was he wanted anyway. He opened the container and handed it over, but Tsuki put his lips on the rim and started to chug it down. It was warm with a pleasant amount of spice. The meat was fresh, though it was best not to ask what it was from. Mandalorians were good at hiding otherwise nasty flavors with the right combination of ingredients. Torian had the spoon in hand by now, holding it out but Tsuki shook his head at it.

“That was in your mouth. I saw it.”

“You never cared before.” True enough, so the white-haired male took it with a shrug and started to eat normally. It was like training a stray animal to trust him, Torian thought, smiling to himself with the small victories he managed to accomplish over the time they had been together. “By the way, I’m going with you on your next mission.”  After coughing a little from a laugh, Tsuki managed to chew and swallow a meaty piece down.

“The hell you are. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Then you’re not going either.”

“Like you could stop me.”

“Try me.”

The intense blue eyes looked down, glaring roughly. It was the exact same glare that Torian held while looking through the scope of a sniper rifle.  “….What’s with you lately? Why are you being so over-protective? You’ve been less of a pain in my ass through harder jobs,” Tsuki asked as he felt mildly intimidated. The look softened as Torian had to think upon a decent way to answer that question.

“….I’m worried. You leave and come back barely alive. Last time, you wouldn’t have come back at all. What’s so important that you’re willing to die for? I told you everything about me about my dad and my family. You…only talk in your sleep.”

“I’m talking now, aren’t I?”

“Then who are you looking for? Who is Celi? And Seren?”

“…Damn, I mentioned Seren too?”

“Stop avoiding the question.”

“That was more than one question…”

“TSUKI!”

“What? FINE!…Fine…For shit’s sake…”

It was hard to argue when Torian got like this. It flustered Tsuki like a virginal Padawan.  Putting the container down, he leaned over with his hands on his face. They brushed back the hair that normally hid one of the green eyes. Looking away, he finally started to speak under protest with as little detail as humanly possible.  “…A long time ago, in a galaxy pretty fucking far from here…I…was born in a little remote place. The Empire attacked, thinking we were siding with the Republic, but we weren’t. They captured…or killed most of the people. People I knew. And…I got some info to help me find someone I couldn’t on my own. Celi. I was a stupid kid, but I promised I’d find him. I figured he was dead, but I keep seeing things. Things he would do. That’s all.” Suddenly, Torian found himself very jealous of this Celi person.

“So, he’s important to you?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then we’ll find him.”


	3. Quinn and His Lord

“Sir, Sir?”

“Yes, Quinn?”

“You have a coded communication coming through from that Darth again, my Lord.

“Patch it through to a private channel. Secure the line and leave me.”

“Yes sir, patching it through now.” Sitting in his room at the desk, Solaris was busy checking in on some information alone. Quinn had busied himself with working on the bridge as Jaessa and Vette would find themselves busy with biochemical research. If nothing else, it was simply enough just to have Vette not screaming about her shock collar. It was also good that she had made at least one friend, even if it was the Sith Lord’s apprentice. Pierce mostly kept to himself, conferring with Quinn only on certain matters, while Broonmark…was…well…a fuzzy psychopath.  Once the holocom beeped at the panel on the desktop surface, Solaris was more than happy to push the flashing red button.

“Seren! Good to see you again.” A miniature image of the second eldest’s body appeared on the desk in a flickering blue light. Even though his image was tiny, it was still more than enough to show a displeased look upon his face.

“You nearly got our brother killed, you know that?”

“I…What? No I didn’t…” The news was enough to make Solaris frowned noticeably. “What do you mean? How did I almost get Tsuki killed?”

“Tell me something, brother. Did you even bother checking your intel before telling him to go to a very remote place in the middle of Maker knows what star system only to then have him wait for random someone to help out?”

“Hey! I got the info from a highly reliable source! It’s not my fault it came out bad! Besides, Tsuki can handle himself. He always has.”

“If I didn’t send an anonymous message to that young Mandalorian of his to pull him out of there, we’d be short a sibling. Idiot.”

“Why didn’t you go yourself…?”

“I WAS BUSY!”

“Uh huh.” Flustered, Seren grumbled and looked away.  “I wasn’t anywhere near that area and he doesn’t want his crew to know about us. All this sneaking around doesn’t make any damn sense. Not like anyone would care that we are related…”

“I agree, but you know how he is. I’m surprised he didn’t change his name like Celi did.”

“Don’t remind me…”

“Aw, admit it, Seren. You’re worried too, right?”

“…Shut up.”

“It’s alright. Big brother will take care of you!”

“You’re such a…” There was a pause as Seren sighed to regain his composure. “At any rate, I wanted to let you know that your ‘source’ is a cheat and you should let people who know what they are doing first. Check your facts before sending us out on wild goose chases. “

“That’s not really fair, you know. Quinn handles all that stuff and I can’t even tell him about us!”

“Well, stop being stupid?”

“It’d be a lot easier if I let Quinn know…He’s already suspicious of me. Last time I spoke to him, he asked if I had plans on ‘merging houses’ with this ‘Darth’ person. He even asked if he should size me up for a ceremonial suit of armor for marriage.”

“Are you serious? Ha! That’s absurd. What fool in their right mind would want to marry a moron like you, anyhow?”

“Tell me about it! He’s been irritated ever since. I can’t calm him down. How about we meet ships? No one on my end will care that you’re my brother…and it will calm Quinn down…”

“Why do I have to get involved in your personal affairs? I don’t need to know what you and Quinn are…” There was a knock on the door, causing Solaris to shut off the communications abruptly.

“Come in.” The sliding door rose up, showing only Quinn standing there at attention in a regal white Imperial uniform decorated with red stripes and matching black pants.

“Sorry to interrupt you, my Lord…”

“It’s not a problem I just finished up…What do you need?”

“Ah…It was about how I spoke earlier. I did not mean to imply that you should consider marriage…but if the time comes, please allow me to…”

“Wait. Wait.” Solaris had to stand up and laugh heartily. While not towering over his Captain, he did stand a few inches above him. The imposing black and silver armor also artificially broadened his stature just as the noble red markings on his face falsely projected fierceness from his appearance. Had Quinn been brewing this apology all this time? That was days ago and there was no reason to even say he was sorry for it. “Quinn, I’m not getting married. I haven’t the urge nor want. My communications with this Darth are strictly professional and…”

“But, you smile.”

“Pardon?”

“When this Darth calls, you smile. You get excited and seem to enjoy the conversations. They are long, private, and…”

Leaning closer, Solaris couldn’t help but grin. “And? Are you jealous?” There was a pause as Quinn became momentarily flustered.

“Of course not, my Lord. I’m only speaking out of concern for your mission and place in the Empire.” Disappointment came swiftly to his Master’s face. Pulling away, Solaris’s cheerful mood rapidly dissipated. 

“Ah, I see. Well as a Darth, there is hardly a reason for you to worry now, is there? I’ll note your concern, but if that’s all that’s on your mind, I’ll have you remember your place. Is there anything else I can do for you, Captain?” The darkened green eyes narrowed, even more so when Quinn looked up.

“….No…my Lord. I apologize.”

“Save it. “ The button to the door controls was touched by Solaris and closed the barrier between himself and Quinn.

“Ha, you blew it again huh?” Turning, Quinn saw the red Twi’lek making a mockery of the situation.

“Oh, stow it. Slave.”

“Oooo, Captain Stick-Up-His-Ass is all touchy that he got rejected.”

“Stick isn’t the only thing he wants up his arse.” Lieutenant Pierce chimed in as he smirked to himself. Quinn turned his nose up as the woman and the hefty man exchanged hi-fives.

“Stow it, the both of you or I’ll have you cleaning the pits of Broonmark’s sleeping quarters for the next week.” Solaris had come out of his own quarters, glaring at both Vette and Pierce. They were just outside his door, after all and it wasn’t as it the walls were completely soundproof. The Lieutenant suddenly looked around, trying to find something to do while Vette just grumbled. 

“Quinn. In here. Now.”

“Somebody’s in trouble…” Vette teased before receiving a nasty shock around her neck. “ARGH!” Solaris wiggled the handy push-button controller  at her as Quinn walked his way into the room. With a quick tap to the panel on the wall, the door came down once again.

“Sit down, Quinn.”

‘Where?’ Quinn thought. There were only two places; one being the bed and the other being the desk chair, which was already taken by Solaris himself. There was a hesitation again. Any objections might cause the Lord to be angry for a second time at him today, so both slowly and carefully, he lowered himself to sit on the edge of the surprisingly soft mattress.

“My Lord?”

“It turns out that I’m not very good at identifying sources of bogus information as I thought I was. I seem to have gotten lazy with you always helping me. Well, let’s be honest, I never had to really check my sources. If they came out bad, I’d just get rid of the crook and be on my way.”

Was there a point to this? Quinn already knew that Solaris was more heart and feeling then an actual thinker. It was both a fear and a quality about him that kept Quinn’s loyalty and attention. Still, he remained silent as he waited for an explanation. It was unusual to see Solaris acting nervous and Quinn’s mind began to immediately calculate what could have the otherwise fearless leader in such knots. “You want to know who and what this mysterious Darth is to me, right? I need you to meet with their ship in an hour. We’ll shuttle over there. Just the two of us…but I need you to be discreet.”

“My Lord, I am forever discreet.”

“That….That you are. Well then!” Solaris’s sudden standing caused Quinn to do so as well. “Get to it. I sent the coordinates to your panel!”

“Ye..Yes, my Lord!”


End file.
